Unexpected Accolades

Wednesday, before we left town for yearly Thanksgiving jaunt to Fr. Dicks, I received a phone call.  From the school (or so the caller ID said).  Nervously I answered because, calls from the school usually mean a sick child.  NOT what you need as you're headed out of town.

Wednesday's call happened to be my oldest daughter's Spanish teacher who introduced himself and let me know off the bat, that this was NOT one of "those" calls.  I'm sure you can imagine what "those" calls are even if you haven't been a recipient of one.  The call where your child's teacher expresses a problem with your child that the teacher has been unable to resolve on their own and are seeking your, the parent's, help.  Thankfully, with 4 children, these calls have been few and far between.  Actually, as I think of it, I'm not even sure I have received one, which is NOT to say we haven't had our issues at school, just that a phone call wasn't the method of delivery.

Her teacher let me know that, all too often, the "good" kids in school tend to get "overlooked" as they, the teachers, deal with those who either don't grasp the material or are behavioral issues.  He said that he makes it a point to call the parents of those "good" kids and let them (the parents) know how much he enjoys having their children in his class.    He then proceeded to outline our daughter's behavior in his class:  she comes prepared for class and participates.  She is respectful of him and other students.  She goes beyond the expectations of his class, to the point where she is doing the work of students from his CIS (College in School) class.

These types of accolades from teachers are not rare for this child and yet they always seem to choke me up a bit.  Because in these days of laziness and/or sloth, (and yes, even with THIS child), it's nice to get a little reaffirmation that we are doing something correct.  Oh, make no mistake, this is all about HER and the fact that for some reason, Spanish seems to have sparked a real fire in her (if only I could get her to approach her math classes with the same level of excitement) but I think that as parents, we have instilled in her a desire to do her best, regardless of her level of interest.

So praise of this type is always welcome.  And a nice way to start of our Thanksgiving weekend.